Last Saturday, we met up with friends in Rockwell to catch the Aranaz private sale.

D: Denizens of women were hoarding bags left and right! Everything was half off and I was extremely happy to snag the macrame bag with fringe that I'd been eyeing.
P: I had to keep out though because I felt like I was a rather large obstacle between the women and their bags.

Aranaz supporters watching the bag mania from the sidelines

Rosanna playing cashier-cashier (Haha!)

Lookie here, it's the fabulous Little Miss H looking gorgeous as always. She's back from Edinburgh
for some R&R. Seriously loving all her baubles!

D: Oh and we met the lovely Nicole of Soule Phenomenon! She was delivering a pair of shoes to Rosanna and she came to check out the sale as well. I love her ankle boots and bombshell hair!

Post-shopping chilling at Starbucks

FOOD

For lunch, we decided to go to California Pizza Kitchen for some old favorites.

Here are some of their new offerings, except for our old, reliable raspberry iced tea, of course. The steak tacos and apple crumble look good!

Miso Salad
P: This salad tastes so fresh and has a good combination of crunchy and soft bits. I usually go for vinaigrettes but this dressing's an exception.
D: I love the crunchy wanton crisps with the dressing. There's a little too much edamame beans and cucumber though.

The Original BBQ Chicken with Applewood-smoked Bacon
P: Their classic BBQ chicken pizza is already great with the tangy-sweet sauce, cheese and onions but it just went up a couple of notches of awesome with the applewood-smoked bacon. Added a nice crunchy saltiness.
D: I really like their BBQ sauce and the added bacon was a nice treat. Bacon makes everything better!

P: Had the Boysenberry with the hot fudge. I think it's a good idea to pair the tangy yogurt with something sweet but the fudge may not have been the perfect choice.
D: Raspberry cheesecake with smore bits was a good combination for sure! The smore bits were lovely with the tanginess of the raspberry.

FASHION

P: I'm so glad I got this pair of shorts from the department store of Robinsons Galleria. It's a touch too big but it's a nice departure from the slim fit of my others.
As for my top, chambray yet again. Short sleeves make it a go-to piece for hot days.

The suede shoes I got from BKK needed some breaking because they're extremely narrow. They were surprisingly comfortable though, not too mention, versatile.

D: I think I went a little overboard with the pink but I'll take anything with a bow print. Oh and I love my ridiculously enormous round sunglasses! Never mind that they make my face seem even more rotund.

We'll be carrying another version of this bag and my dress in Looking for Lola so watch out for our next batch!

Vintage belt from my mom
This fastens with a hook and rope knot at the back. Part wrestling champ, part Aztec warrior. (I hope I'm getting my references right!)

A peek at the Aranaz bag I scored at the sale!
Can't wait to take it out for a spin soon.

The girls of Glitterati were kind enough to invite us to their Prive event on Wednesday, September 1 at Members Only. These girls are definitely going places fast!
Let us know if you'd like to come along so we can inform Joanna and Nina!

Lately, we haven't been able to chronicle our weekend activities so we thought we'd do a random weekday post. However, we had a big food fail because we forgot to take pictures of the yummy lunch/dinner we had! Nasi Lemak, the Asian resto in Robinsons Galleria that we blogged about before, was having a Hainanese chicken special just for today!

Take-out sets usually marked at P200 were being sold for only P100. People were buying them in bulk orders!

D: I bought a set for lunch today and got P one for dinner. The friendly owner said that it would keep until night as long as you stored it in the ref. I also got two mini lava cakes for dessert. I know it's super corny without pictures but we couldn't help digging in right away!

Anyway...

FASHION

P: Banker, Debt Capital Markets

I've been raring to try out the new shirts I commissioned from my tailor, Mr. Habana.

I really like the fit of his shirts except for the unusually long sleeves.

Otherwise, he cuts a trim, modern figure which can be hard to explain to other tailors.

I had this French-cuff shirt made from fabric sourced in Kamuning.

The detail of the cloth is mild, subtle patterned stitching and the white on white makes it look crisper than my other plain white shirts.

We spent our second night at Khao San Road, where a lot of the tourists and backpackers go for a night-out.The area was packed with bars, clubs, street hawkers and entertainers, and yes, even more clothes and accessory kiosks.

P: I find their spelling of "pork" so amusing!

Paper-mache toys among other things

The next morning, we split up into two groups.Our pack headed off to Jatuchak weekend market to search for more fashion finds.

Here we are waiting for Donna and Maina to get back from church.

P: Found some nice nubucks at the market for around THB 700! This is the first time I've seen decent men's shoes in a public market. I had a much easier time finding men's clothing here than at Platinum too.

D: Went a little nuts in this store. They had really pretty tops being sold at an unbeatable price. Further discounts were given for bulk purchases! Take note, they offer their "wholesale" prices when you get at least 2 pieces of clothing or 3 accessories.

After an intensely tiring yet fulfilling day at the market and a surprisingly meaningful Sunday Mass, we were off to Paragon to unwind and have dinner in a proper restaurant. Oh and to check out the Zara sale too, of course!

Cute little restaurant at the center of the food court

Another version of the Thai iced tea that we chugged on for the duration of the trip

Deep-fried pork rib with garlic

D: This was flavorful but felt a little bit like pulutan and the garlic bits were larger than what I was expecting.

P: I thought the garllic cloves were peanuts so I just kept eating everything. It wasn't sharp-tasting though so it was fine.

Soft shell crab salad
D: This was my favorite thing that we ate for the entirety of the trip! The combination of the dressing and the flavors of the crab and vegetables was so delicious!
P: The crab was superb! The tamarind sauce went perfectly with it.

Salted fish fried rice

D: Pretty good as far as rice goes! It was a little on the small side though.

Coconut soup with chicken

P: I liked the spicy soup with the lemongrass flavor. A staple of northern Thai cuisine.

Green mango salad with prawns

P: I think I like the catfish version better but I like the tartness of the mango and the dressing that came along with it.

One of the few occasions that the group was complete (with P taking the photo, of course).

Market haul

P: Now even more shirts plus the aforementioned suede shoes. I also got this stretchy heather-gray cotton blazer/cardigan. I was glad to have D with me this time who handled all the haggling duties for me. She even got 100 baht off one piece!

Tops, dresses, belts, and sunnies all at bargain prices

We didn't get to photograph our haul from our second round in Platinum because we were rushing off to catch another red-eye flight back home. We were set to arrive in MNL by 4:55 am but ended up getting out of NAIA by 6:30. From there, off to work we went... zzzzzzz

Note to selves: Never do red-eye to work again at all costs.

Here are the remaining pictures of us passing time at the airport.

Luckily, no one went grossly over the alloted 15 kg that CebuPac sets.

We both practically wore the same things coming and going because of the luggage restrictions. Just some tweaks here and there!